


Waiting Here

by Starthewolf1106



Series: Once I Had [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Human Experimentation, Hurt Peter Parker, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, M/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Rape/Non-con Elements, Starvation, Torture, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:00:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22610638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starthewolf1106/pseuds/Starthewolf1106
Summary: Strap in, fuckers. I'm going real dark for this one.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Once I Had [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626898
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	1. Starfall

_Hush now, watch the stars fall,_

_Into a fire wall_

_I am waiting here,_

_Waiting for you to come home._

"Gather around, boys." Boss ordered, and the small group formed a semi-circle around their leader. 

"Our allies have sent us an amazing piece of tech, something that will easily allow us to complete our mission." He said, grabbing a small bracelet from his pocket.

"This, will allow us to shape-shift into anyone recognized in the database." He explained, holding it up to the small crowd.

"So, the mission is a go, then?" Rex questioned, eyeing the piece of jewelry eagerly.

"Eventually, but first, we need to run a test, first." Lapis explained, smiling sinisterly at the crowd, before meeting Boss' eyes.

* * *

"Bye, Peter! See you Monday!" Ned called to him, and Peter waved as he ran towards the familiar black car. Opening the door, he threw his backpack in the back.

"Hey, kid." Tony's voice greeted him instead of Happy's.

"Oh! Hey, Mr. Stark. I didn't know you were picking me up!" Peter replied, taking his seat in the front, next to Tony.

"Disappointed?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Of course not!" Peter quickly said. Tony rolled his eyes and handed him a milkshake.

"What's this?" Peter asked, smiling at the fact that Tony got him a gift.

"A milkshake." Tony replied, dryly.

"Thanks." Peter said, lifting the straw to his mouth. His spider-sense buzzed at the back of his skull, and Peter frowned.

"What's wrong?" Tony questioned, frowning with concern.

"Nothing! It's just that my spider-sense is buzzing, that's all." Peter answered, sheepishly.

"The milk may be a little past it's due date. You can throw it out, if you want." Tony said, shrugging his shoulders.

Peter considered it for a second. He didn't want to throw out a gift from Tony, though realistically, he knew Tony wouldn't care. He could take a little spoilt milk, couldn't he? Shrugging, he drank from the milkshake, ignoring the buzzing in his mind.

A few minutes later, exhaustion tugged at Peter's limbs. Yawning, he tugged his Stark Industries sweater closer around himself.

"Tired?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. School must have taken more out of today or something." Peter murmured sleepily, yawning again.

"Go to sleep, kid. We'll be there soon." Tony soothed, smiling.

Yawning once more, Peter let the darkness engulf him.


	2. Embers And Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heavy rape/NON-CON and torture in this chapter

_Sinking embers glow,_

_Melting icy snow_

_I am waiting here, waiting for you to come home..._

When Peter awoke, he was in some sort of cell. His hands and arms were chained together behind his back. His ankles were tied together with some sort of metal that Peter wasn't familiar with. 

Struggling against his bonds, he growled. He was sitting, chained to some sort of a pole in a dark room. Water dripped somewhere in the distance.

Confusion clouded his mind. Wasn't he in the car with Tony? What happened? Why was he here?

He stilled as a door in front of him opened. To his surprise, Tony walked in.

"Mr. Stark! You're here!" Peter cried with joy.

Tony snorted, and gave him a disgusted look. Peter faltered, even more confused.

"Not quite, brat." Tony said, before removing a sort of bracelet from his wrist. Tony's figure shifted to that of a larger, scarred, meaner looking man.

"What the fuck?" Peter whispered, trying to inch farther away from the man's wicked smile.

"Pathetic." The man spat, taking a few steps closer.

"What... What do you want with me?" Peter tried to say threateningly, but it came out sounding more childish then intended.

"You? You mean nothing to us. This world means nothing to us. We just wanted to run a few tests with this thing before we started our actual mission." The man explained, fidgeting with the bracelet. 

"So... You'll let me go now?" Peter asked, hopeful.

"We considered that, but you might jeopardize our plans. Besides, we figured we'd have a little fun first." The man replied, squaring down so that he was at eye level with Peter.

Grabbing Peter's chin, the man lifted Peter's head and ran his hands through his hair. Peter growled at the touch, and the man chuckled.

"Yeah, you'll be a lot of fun." The man growled, before standing up and walking out of the room, locking the door behind him.

* * *

It was a few hours before someone else came down. It was a different man, smaller this time, but still as big as Thor.

The man had a nasty scar running across his face, and another scar on his left arm.

Scarface scowled at Peter as he approached. Eyeing him up and down, the man lunged forward suddenly and punched Peter square in the jaw.

Screeching in pain, Peter tried to wriggle away. The man rained down a barage of punches and kicks, each landing with super-human strength.

Screaming, Peter tried to fight back. Pain blossomed across his body, and tears pricked at his eyes. Finally, Scarface stopped, wiped blood from his knuckles, and leered down at the boy.

"I'll be back in an hour." He growled as he walked out, leaving Peter a bloody, beaten, bewildered mess.

* * *

Groaning, Peter lifted his head as the door opened again. He didn't know how long it had been since his last beating. It had happened at least five other times since the first event. 

He was sure some of his ribs were broken or fractured. His entire body ached, scrapes and bruises littering his frame.

The first man entered the room, followed by Scarface and another man Peter didn't recognize. Two of them were carrying a large bucket of water, while the third fidgeted with something in his hands.

"What do you want?" Peter spat as the bucket of water was placed in front of him. The men answered this with a sinister laugh.

"Why are you doing this?!" Peter snapped, trying to put as much distance between himself and the bucket as possible. He had already guessed what was about to happen.

"I don't know anything, I'm useless to you! Why are you doing this?!" He wailed as Scarface roughly grabbed his hair. The third man untied his arms, which had gone completely numb.

"We're not doing this for information or ransom or anything else you might be thinking. This is practice for us, you see. A little game to hone our skills before our mission." The first man answered, before nodding to Scarface. 

Peter took a deep breath of air just in time before his head was pushed into the bucket.

The water was fridgid; it felt like ice digging into his skin. Peter tried not to struggle, tried to conserve his air, but eventually the pressure in his chest became too much. Scarface pulled his head back up. Coughing and sputtering, Peter greedily sucked in the precious oxygen.

All too soon, his head was dunked back under, and the process repeated. This time, Peter inhaled some of the fridgid water by accident. It felt like someone had shoved nails into his lungs as they filled with water.

Again and again, his head was dunked. Again and again, each time longer than the last, each time more unbearable. 

Peter no longer had the strength to fight. He only sucked in air and tried to hold it as long as he could.

Finally, the men lifted his head out of the water, and kicked the bucket away haphazardly.

Peter didn't struggle as they tied his arms back up. He simply slumped miserably, coughing up water. 

"Lapis? Want to test your new weapon?" The first man said to the third.

Lapis smiled a toothy, sinister smile as he took the device out of his pocket. Peter whimpered as he tried to shrink into himself.

Lapis took the device, and in a sharp, stabbing lotion, dug it into Peter's skin. Bolts of electricity ran through his veins as he screamed out in pain. Writhing against the chains, Peter howled in agony as Lapis repeated the process over and over. 

Peter's vision swirled. He didn't have enough energy to cry out anymore, just moan pathetically. He was shaking, his head was soaked, his lungs were filled with water, and his skin was burnt where he was shocked.

The men left him there as they exited, laughing about their success.

* * *

"Well, well, well. You've lasted 48 hours! Congratulations!" The first man said as he entered the room.

Had it really been 48 hours? Where was Tony? Surely he would be here by now.

"We just have some questions for you. Answer them correctly, and you'll be rewarded. Get them wrong, and, well..." The man trailed off as he unwound what appeared to be a type of whip.

"Think of it as a type of test." He said with another sinister smile. He pressed a button on the whip, and it started buzzing.

 _It's electrified,_ he realized.

"A test? But I didn't study!" Peter tried to joke. The man scowled, before lashing the whip across Peter's face.

"No talking unless you have permission." The man snapped as Peter howled in agony.

"Now, who are we?" The man asked. Peter narrowed his eyes, considering his response.

Obviously the man was looking for something specific.

"Ummm... Someone... Powerful?" Peter tried, earning him a kick to the ribs.

"Close." The man replied as Peter hissed at the pain.

"We are your new owners. In case you haven't noticed, we own you now. We decide when you eat, when you drink, when you sleep, and when you speak. Understand?" The man growled.

Peter slowly nodded. He hated this. He didn't belong to anybody, especially not these assholes.

"I don't think you do. Lapis, how about we show our friend what happens when he lies?" The man said, turning to his friend. Peter didn't even know that he was there. 

In Lapis' hands was a small welding iron. 

"No, no! I understand, I promise!" Peter begged as Lapis held the device up.

His pleas fell on deaf ears as Lapis gleefully pressed the device down on Peter's skin.

Screeching, Peter writhed and twisted in Lapis' grip, but two days of starvation and torture had weakened him.

After a few seconds, Lapis pulled back, leaving scarred, burnt flesh in his wake.

Peter fought back tears as pain flooded his body. He couldn't show weakness around them. He had to be strong. For Tony, who Peter was sure was coming any second now.

"Question 2: What are you?" The man asked, and Lapis fidgeted with the welding iron excitedly.

"... Your... Your slave?" The words felt like acid as Peter spoke them. They weren't true. He just had to hold out until Tony got here, then this nightmare would be behind them.

"Correct!" The man said, sweetly. 

"You're nobody. We own you, and that is all you're good for." The man purred.

"Last question: Who's coming to rescue you?" The man questioned. Peter knew the answer he was looking for. Sudden confidence flooded his mind. He _knew_ Tony was coming.

"Mr. Stark and the rest of the Avengers. They're coming to save me and kick your ass!" Peter yelled, his head raised as loyalty to his mentor, his father figure gave him confidence.

The man's gaze turned dark. Peter flinched slightly as he stepped towards him.

"Loyal little shit, aren't you? I had a feeling you would say something like that, so I had Lapis bring a little something along with him. Lapis?" The man growled darkly as Lapis handed him a branding prod. It was shaped like an arc reactor. 

Using the welding iron to heat it up, Lapis removed Peter's shirt and held him still as the first man approached.

"Listen here." The man said as he crouched down.

"Your little hero and his gang of superpowered freaks aren't coming." He snarled as he lifted the branding iron up.

"Stark doesn't care about you. He only wanted you because of your powers. He never cared about you." He continued as he pressed the scalding metal against Peter's chest.

"Nobody gives a fuck about a little shit stain like you. All your dreams and delusions of grandeur are never going to come true. The moment they don't need you anymore, they'll just let you rot in a dungeon somewhere. And would you look at that? It already happened!" 

The pain was unbearable. Tears flooded his eyes and animalistic screams escaped his mouth. 

"You're wrong! You're _wrong!_ " Peter managed to yell out, between his tears and his screaming.

"Pathetic. I guess you'll always be Stark's little slut, won't you?" The man growled as he removed the branding prod. He and Lapis exited, leaving Peter to choke on his own tears.

Sobs escaped his mouth. The pain was too much. It had been... What, 72 hours? Where was Tony? Was the man right, did they really not care anymore? He was wrong. He _had_ to be wrong. They were his family, they wouldn't just abandon him!

...Right?

* * *

_**TRIGGER WARNING** _

_**AUTHORS NOTE: THE REST OF THIS STORY CONTAINS HEAVY RAPE AND NON-CON ELEMENTS** _

**_ TRIGGER WARNING _ **

* * *

The sound of the door unlocking bolted Peter wide awake. Scrambling away from the door to the best of his abilities, Peter eyed the newcomer warily. 

His body was bruised and burnt, he still coughed up water from time to time. He likely had more than one infection.

The man, who Peter recognized as the first man, had a loaf of bread and some water on a tray.

Setting the tray down, the man sat across from Peter.

Hunger clawed at his stomach like a rabid animal. He hadn't eaten in days.

The man looked him dead in the eyes, smiled, picked up the loaf of bread, and ate a bite of it. 

Peter whined miserably as he watched the man eat half of the loaf.

"What, you want this?" The man asked, holding up the remaining half.

"Yes! Yes, please. _Please._ " Peter begged, no longer caring how pathetic he sounded. 

"Well, I'll give it to you, on one condition." The man said.

Peter nodded eagerly, desperate for any food.

"I'll give it to you, if you give me a kiss." The man explained.

Peter froze. Was it worth it? It was the only food he'd seen in literal days. It may be the only piece for another week.

"No? Well, then I guess I'll just have to finish it myself." The man taunted, taking another bite of the bread.

"No! I'll do it, I'll do it." Peter agreed, and immediately regretted his decision.

The man smiled, and walked over to Peter. The man grabbed the back of Peter's head and tugged his face close to his own.

The man's breath smelled like garlic and made Peter want to puke. He whimpered, and the man chuckled in response.

Suddenly, their lips were connected, and the man's tongue was in Peter's mouth, exploring every inch of it.

Peter froze, not daring to move, until the man was done. The man trailed his fingers down Peter's face before throwing him the rest of the bread.

Peter realized that he was shaking as he quickly ate the rest of the bread and drank the water. The taste of the man still lingered in his mouth, making him want to vomit. The man chained him back up before leaving.

He hoped to whatever God may or may not be out there that Tony would get here soon. Peter had a sinking feeling that things would only escalate.

* * *

He was right. A few days of oppressive isolation later, and the man was back. Unchaining Peter's arms, the man stepped back.

"I brought you more food. A loaf of bread, an orange, some water, and I even brought you a granola bar!" The man said, showing Peter a tray of delicious looking food.

"Same deal as last time. However, since there's more food, it's only fair that I get more of a reward, don't you agree?" The man asked, but Peter knew that the question was rhetorical. Peter ducked his head, nodded, and rubbed tears from his eyes.

The man approached, and cupped his hand around Peter's face. The hand trailed lower, to his chest, then to his stomach. The man forced his tongue into Peter's mouth once more, as he trailed his other hand up from Peter's ankles to his crotch. 

Peter let out another whimper as the man grabbed his privates. The man also grabbed Peter's hands and shoved them down his pants as well. 

Peter closed his eyes and let the man do what he wanted, trying not to focus on his current situation.

Luckily, the man was finished soon. He chained Peter back up, took his leave, and left Peter feeling utterly disgusted with himself.

* * *

"It's been more than three weeks." The man said with a smile, a blanket tucked under his arm.

Peter didn't answer, just shuddered in response. A blanket was a luxurious gift. What did he have to do this time? He really didn't want to do any more 'favors'.

"I have a blanket, two granola bars, and some bottled water here. I know you want these." The man simply said.

It was true, Peter did want those. He wanted them really badly, to be honest.

"All I ask for in return is a simple blowjob. Please, before you make your decision, keep in mind that the alternative is much, much worse." The man said, his voice sweet.

Dread filled Peter's gut. The threat was clear. It was this, or something worse. This way, he would at least get those vital supplies he needed.

Reluctantly, he nodded. Tears pricked at his eyes as the man grinned. Setting down the supplies, the man walked over. He didn't need to unchain Peter's arms for the one.

Unzipping his pants, the man took out his already-hard penis. 

Peter whimpered as the man gripped Peter's hair.

"Open your mouth." He ordered. Peter hesitated, then complied.

"Bite, and I swear you will never walk again." The man growled.

The man thrust his cock into Peter's mouth. Peter tried to close his eyes and pretend that this wasn't happening. 

The man groaned loadly as he bucked. He was thrusting wildly now, and the salty taste of precum permeated Peter's mouth.

What felt like hours passed before the man moaned loudly and finished.

Peter gagged as his mouth was filled with the unwelcome liquid.

"Swallow, you little whore. Unless you wanted another encounter with the welding iron." The man threatened. Peter complied, almost vomiting in the process. 

The man unchained Peter for a few moments, which he took as an opportunity to chug as much water as he could to try and get the taste of the man out of his mouth. Choking back sobs, he pulled the blanket over his shoulders. The man chained him back up, and left.

He fell asleep there, violated and disgusted, knowing that there was even worse to come.

* * *

The dreaded day came about two weeks later. The man had come by a few more times, asking for the same 'favors', each leaving Peter with that awful, sinking feeling.

Peter knew that this day was coming, ever since that first kiss. 

The man walked in, and Peter cowered instinctively. 

"Well. I have something really special for you." The man stated, simply. He held out a small Iron Man teddy bear.

"You know what you have to do to earn it, and you know what happens to you if you refuse." The man hissed as he unchained Peter completely.

 _Run! You're free! Take the chance! Fight! Run for your life!_ His mind screamed at him, but he knew better. There was nowhere to go. He was weak and injured. He stood no chance. There was no hope.

Instead, Peter just lay there on the ground.

 _I really am pathetic. Look at me, broken and ready to be used._ He thought bitterly, tears streaming down his dirt-streaked face.

The man growled, and crouched next to Peter.

"You're shaking. Are you scared?" The man asked.

"Don't worry, I'll make it feel real good." He whispered in Peter's ear, already climbing on top of him.

Peter let out a choked sob as the man pulled down Peter's pants, before unzipping his own. The man rubbed himself in between Peter's thighs for a few moments, before lining himself up.

Slipping inside, the man let out a gasp. The noise Peter made was more animalistic; somewhere between a scream, a sob, and a growl.

Thrusting wildly, the man grabbed Peter's hair and forced his head down roughly, against the concrete floor. Using his other hand to hold Peter's hips, Peter was able to bite down on his own arm to muffle his screams.

Where was Tony? He could stop this. He could fly in, break down the wall and save him. He needed Tony. He needed his dad.

Unbearable pain was all he felt as the man pleasured himself using Peter's body. This was his lowest moment. Broken, bloody, used... Tony would be ashamed. Maybe that's why he wasn't coming. Maybe it was true, what the man had said. Maybe he didn't want Peter anymore.

That last thought echoed itself in Peter's mind as the painful act lasted what felt like hours. 

_I'm sorry..._

* * *

Days passed like a blink of an eye. Peter kept the little teddy bear close at all times. It was his only comfort in this hellscape. The men still came by time to time, usually to beat him up or force him to preform 'favors'. 

The door unlocked. Peter's head snapped up as Lapis and the man from before entered the room. Without speaking, Lapis walked over and stabbed a syringe into Peter's neck.

Yelping at the sharp pain that followed, Peter felt his limbs going numb.

Lapis unchained him from his pole and hoisted him over his shoulders with ease. 

Peter tried to wriggle his way out of Lapis' grip, only to find that he couldn't move. He could blink, wriggle his toes, and twitch his fingers slightly, but that was it.

Whimpering, Lapis unlocked the door. The first man grabbed the Tony teddy bear and followed.

Peter was taken down a maze of winding hallways and corridors before the men finally stopped at a door. The first man opened in in silence and they entered.

Setting Peter down on a table of some sort, the first man set down the Tony teddy bear next to Peter.

"Alright." Said an unfamiliar voice.

"You've given him the drug?" It asked.

"Yep." Came the reply.

"Good. Now, attach that collar to his neck. It will hopefully mute the screaming." The voice said, and he could feel someone placing a collar of some sort on him.

"Does it work?" 

"There's only one way to find out."

An unfamiliar man appeared to the left of Peter. In his hand was a metal spike.

The man grabbed Peter's arms, placed him into a t-pose position, and unfurled his hands. Then, with no hesitation, he drove the spike right through Peter's hand.

Peter opened his mouth the scream, but nothing came out. He wanted to wail, to thrash wildly to make the pain go away, but he couldn't move or speak. He was trapped.

The unfamiliar man did the same thing to his other hand.

"Alright, you two, leave. I've got tests to run." The unfamiliar man ordered, dressing in surgical equipment. 

He cut off Peter's shirt, and coated his chest in disinfectant. Peter's panic clawed at his throat as the man grabbed his tools. 

The man smiled at him, before lowering the scalpel to Peter's chest.


	3. Watch Them Burn

_And I watch them burn,_

_When will I ever learn?_

_If I wait it doesn't mean_

_You will return..._

Pain. That was all he knew. Pain, and blood. The man in the surgical equipment operated with expert precision, stripping him down to nothing.

In those hours, Peter became less than nothing. They tore away everything that was good and pure. Blood poured from his wounds, pooling in colbalt puddles around him. The man poked and prodded, and with each cut to his flesh, Peter felt less and less alive.

He wanted to cry. He wanted to writhe in his agony and scream his suffering to the stars, but he was trapped. 

Tears trickled from his eyes like blood, the man injecting another cocktail of drugs to keep him awake and alive.

He wanted to die. He couldn't deal with this. He tried to stay strong, but this... This was too much. The blinding florescent lights warped and flashed as he started slipping away.

Was this how it ended? With Peter, alone, tortured and afraid, strapped to an operating table, being gutted like a fish?

A single cut ran all the way from his collarbone to his crotch, the skin held apart by pins and needles. Peter was sure that if he looked, he would see his own organs.

Exhaustion gripped him like an iron fist. He thought of Tony, of Ned, of MJ, and of May. He thought of Happy, Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce and Thor. He thought of his family, and he thought about how he would never see them again.

Finally, after five sickening, pain-filled hours, the man started stitching Peter back together. The pain of the needle jabbing into his skin was nothing compared to what had come before.

Blackness was reaching out to swallow him whole, and this time, the man allowed it.

* * *

Peter awoke back in his cell. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages. His limbs were weak and shaky, and his thoughts came slow.

With great effort, he managed to roll over into his back. Distantly, he heard the sound of the door opening. Footsteps that should have been much louder than they were approached.

He blearily opened his eyes, and saw Tony standing there, frowning. Then the image was replaced by the first man, the one without a name. 

Whimpering in fear, Peter tried to scramble away. The man grabbed him before he got very far, and hoisted Peter over his shoulders. Too weak to resist, Peter went limp.

It seemed like only yesterday that Tony had done the same thing to an exhausted Peter, but with much more tenderness and love. 

_"Jesus, kid. You need to eat more. You're like, 50 pounds!" Tony had said._

_"70 pounds, Mr. Stark." Peter murmured back, sleepily._

_"Hmph. Tomorrow we're going out for dinner, and you're going to eat as much as you can, ya little twig." Tony had responded._

_"To Chili's?" Peter had asked._

_"To wherever you want. It'll be great, just you, Pepper, and I." Tony agreed. The words "A family" hung unspoken between them._

Peter was snapped back to reality by the man without a name throwing him to the floor roughly.

Peter tried to push himself up, but collapsed back down again. The man with no name snorted in disgust.

"What are we going to do with him?" The one called Lapis asked. Scarface stood behind him, growling softly at the pathetic mess that was Peter.

"We won't get much use out of him now. Fucker can barely move." Scarface snarled.

"We need to continue our mission before Wolf gets fed up with us." Another, unfamiliar voice called from somewhere.

"Silence, my friends. I have a plan." The man with no name said.

"Tomorrow, at this time, we make our mark on this world. A small one, don't want to bring too much attention to ourselves, after all."

"How do we do that?" Lapis questioned.

"Simple. We kill him. On video, of course." The man with no name answered sweetly.

Peter's blood ran cold. By tomorrow, he would be dead.


	4. Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a sequel, guys. Just be patient.

_And I watch them burn,_

_When will I ever learn?_

_If I wait, it doesn’t mean_

_You will return..._

Tomorrow came way too quickly. One torturous, sleepless night later and it was time. The man with no name came in, along with Lapis and Scarface. Lapis and Scarface grabbed him and started to drag him along the damp, rough floor. Peter tried to struggle out of their grasp. Unfortunately, after 2 months of torture, he was able to do very little. The man with no name smacked him roughly over the head, and Peter went limp.

Once again, Peter found himself being dragged along those twisting halls. Looking to the ceiling, he prayed to whatever god may or may not be out there that Tony would find him, Tony would swoop in and save him just in time.

Of course, he didn’t.

The man with no name opened a door, and Peter was dragged inside. He was forced to his knees in the middle of the room, with the man with no name behind him. Lapis and Scarface stood off to the side.

”Turn the camera on.” The man with no name ordered, and it occurred to Peter that Tony would be forced to watch this. 

_Please, Mr. Stark. Please know that this wasn’t your fault. Please, please don’t blame yourself. Please._

The red light blinked to green, and the man with no name cleared his throat.

”You probably don’t know me. My name is Bane, son of the Great Morbius. I don’t want your money. I don’t want your tools. I only want one thing: I want you to watch.” The man with no name, Bane, apparently, was handed something by Lapis. Peter felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against his skull.

He was going to die. Of this, he was certain. His heart pounded in his chest, and he knew that it wouldn’t be long until it was silenced. Fighting back waves of nausea, his limbs shook wildly. He was terrified, knowing that in a few short moments, his life would be at an end. 

Trepidation clung to his thoughts like he used to cling to Tony. Fear consumed everything inside of him, drowning any rational thought. 

The gun cocked, and all that fear and trepidation was replaced with an eerie calamity. He was going to die. He was filled with the sudden knowing that this was nothing new. The world would live on, his family would recover, and he would fade from the memories of all. As their memory of him faded, what else would be left as evidence of his existence? If there was no evidence, would he truly have existed at all?

There was no time for that. Tears streamed down his face, but they were not tears of sadness, pain, or fear. They were tears of knowing, knowing that everything he’s done so far would be forgotten.

”Smile for the camera.” Bane said with a smile, and with a bang, it was over.

* * *

It had been two months since Tony had seen his kid. He had torn up the world looking for him, to no avail.

He stood on one of the many balconies of the compound. The place they once called home felt empty and cold.  
Staring up at the stars, Tony hoped that somehow, his kid was looking at those same stars, knowing that Tony would find him, soon. He just needed a little more time.

”Tony?” It was Pepper’s voice. He turned and saw her, her eyes full of tears.

”There’s something you need to see.”

_Now all the stars have gone_   
_Faded into cracks of dawn_   
_And I'm still waiting here_   
_Waiting for you to come home..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm waiting here  
> Waiting for you to come home.

**Author's Note:**

> Song is 'Waiting' by Norah Jones, by the way


End file.
